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A Comprehensive Guide to Contract Packaging Services


Posted at 5:14 pm on January 18, 2021 by ActionPak Inc.

Many industries use contract packaging services for products ranging from food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, construction, and consumer products to books, stationery, chemicals, electronics, and hardware. At ActionPak, we offer a variety of packaging types and designs to serve all kinds of packaging needs.

Our endlessly customizable contract packaging services will fit your needs. Our experts will work with you to create unique design, sourcing, and assembly solutions for your products. We can also tailor package tags and labels as required, and we offer specialized packaging services such as shrink wrapping and poly-bundling.

Once all these services are complete, we can also warehouse your products until they are ready to ship.  

While carrying out your order, we will:

  • Find the required items, order them, package them, and ship them
  • Undertake order fulfillment and receive, process, and deliver orders to end customers
  • Provide fulfillment services for online sellers
  • Design and manufacture point-of-sale and point-of-purchase displays

ActionPak has separate non-food and FDA-compliant food facilities for assembly and packaging. Our air-conditioned facilities include clean room work areas to reduce the risk of contamination of your products.

Read below for full descriptions of all our packing services:

Stick Packs

Single-serve cylindrical pouches are known as stick packs. This type of packaging offers an ideal solution for introducing new products, or for packaging consumer items that might be used for travel or other on-the-go applications. When compared to rectangular or square packaging solutions, stick packs can save anywhere from 10% to 40% in terms of packaging material.

This reduced usage causes less waste and amounts to significant cost savings and economies of scale that can largely mitigate the upfront costs associated with film orders or plates. They also allow for attractive artwork to catch the eye of the consumer on displays. Since most products will require a customized solution with unique artwork and sizing, production time from conception to delivery may take as long as six weeks.

Stick packs can be used for liquids, gels, or powders, and offer a range of benefits for consumable products. They are portable, don’t spill, and can be sized appropriately to pour into bottles or other containers.

Sachets

Sachets are heat-sealed on all four sides to keep the product safely sealed until it is ready for use. This type of packaging may be fabricated from materials such as paper, foil, or plastic, and is available in a widely customizable array of sizes and shapes, making it suitable for myriad food and non-food applications. As sachets are not resealable once they are torn open, they are typically only used to package single-use items.

Condiments are perhaps the most commonly recognized form of sachet packaging. Sachets may be used in the food service industry to package small individual servings of ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, sugar, creamer, salt, pepper, soy sauce, and other complimentary foods that accompany take-out orders or sit on restaurant tables. Larger sachets often protect single-use servings of coffee, seasonings, or yeast.

The hospitality industry has also adopted sachets as packaging for shampoo, conditioner, soap and a variety of other non-food items. The pharmaceutical sector uses sachets to package single-use servings of medicines, such as pills, powders, and liquids.

Stand-Up Pouches

Stand-up pouches – so named because they are designed with a wide, strong bottom that allows them to stand up on their own – represent one of the fastest-growing packaging trends for consumer goods. This type of pouch can accommodate a wide variety of food and non-food product types, as well as a wide range of weights and sizes.

When compared to competitive packaging such as bag-in-box or cans, stand-up pouches use as much as 75% less material. They offer high customization potential, including features such as resealable zippers, hang holes, tear notches, and degassing valves.

At ActionPak, we offer an end-to-end packaging solution for stand-up pouches. We have reliable sources for custom-printed stand-up pouches, and we possess state-of-the-art machines specifically designed to fill this type of packaging. We feature two different facilities for food and non-food filling operations to ensure that there is no risk of cross-contamination.

The most common types of food products packaged in this manner include snacks, granola, candy, and baking staples such as sugar, salt, and flour. Non-food products may include detergents, powders, chemicals, agricultural supplements such as pesticides or fertilizer, and non-food salts such as rock salt. Stand-up pouches are versatile enough to offer a strong and convenient packaging solution for nearly any type of product.

ActionPak also conducts periodic quality checks to guarantee strong seals and proper fills, and our equipment marks each package with key information, such as expiration dates and lot codes.

Poly-Bundling Services

We offer innovative poly-bundling solutions for finished products intended to be sold in packs, including fruit juice, soda, bottled water, and other beverages, as well as multi-pack cans and cleaning supplies. We also create unique poly-bundling strategies to bundle irregularly shaped products, including wood.

Similar to shrink wrapping, poly-bundling allows efficient, form-fitting wrapping of a wide range of products while consuming less resources than more generic packaging solutions. Made of layered polyethylene, poly shrink bundling film has superior clarity, tensile strength, and puncture resistance to other types of packaging.

Our poly-bundling services come with a number of stock sizes to meet the needs of customers. They also offer the option to print on the film, allowing customization of the packaging to boost brand recognition. We poly-bundle large and small product volumes as needed.

Shrink-Wrapping Services

Shrink wrapping is an indispensable way to secure goods for transport. Packagers often use shrink wrapping to keep multiple items together on pallets, to wrap furniture and other large items, and to seal luggage and packages for transport on airplanes.

Automated machines usually carry out shrink-wrapping services, but we also offer this service using semi-automated or manual techniques according to our clients’ needs. We can accommodate low-volume and high-volume orders, and our facilities are built to enable quick turnaround times. We’ve filled orders ranging from a few hundred products to hundreds of thousands.

Customized Contract Packaging Solutions

ActionPak offers custom packaging solutions catering a full range of industries. We offer turnkey services and accommodate clients large and small.  Whether you are looking for an innovative solution to meet your packaging needs or a cost-effective alternative to your existing service, we’d like to be a part of  your next packaging solution. Contact our team and request a quote today.